Avoid unnecessarily spending on projects: Planning minister
Minister MA Mannan asked government officials to be careful about unnecessary expenses during a two-day training workshop on Wednesday
Planning Minister MA Mannan has again directed the authorities concerned to stop unnecessary spending and waste on development projects.
"Development work needs money. In that case, do not delay in spending what you need. But, unnecessary spending must not be done," he said addressing government officials.
He was speaking as the chief guest at the inaugural function of a two-day training workshop of the Environment, Climate Change and Disaster Statistics (ECDS) Strengthening Project on Wednesday.
The workshop was held in the statistics building of Agargaon in the capital.
MA Mannan said that Bangladesh, like other countries in the world, is going through a difficult time due to the novel coronavirus. "At this time, you have to be careful about unnecessary expenses. You have to spend money wisely."
Regarding the accuracy of statistics, the minister said people across the country question the accuracy of the information prepared by Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS). "We have to work in such a way so that there will be no doubt about statistics. The information must be accurate."
Secretary of Statistics and Information Management Department Muhammad Yamin Chowdhury said it is important to know the exact status before implementing a plan and "statistics can uphold this position."
Zuena Aziz, principal coordinator (SDG affairs) of the Prime Minister's Office, and Mohammad Tajul Islam, director general of BBS, also were present at the programme.
BBS organised the two-day workshop under the Capacity Building for Generating SDGs Data with Focus to Environment, Climate Change and Disaster Management project.
The main objective of the project is to prepare and publish statistics on: the institutionalisation of assessment measures of Bangladesh's environment, natural resources, biodiversity, impact of natural disasters on the impact of climate change, etc.
The total cost of the project has been estimated at Tk36 crore. The project started in July 2019 and will end in June 2023.